Servo - January 2016

30 SERVO 01.2016

you purchase inexpensive cutters designed for it (Figure 5) which are available at any big box hardware store (see Resources). It will speed up the process considerably. PVC can also be shaped by heating it with an inexpensive heat gun. Using this method allows you to customize the structure of your character in ways not attainable using only the available fittings.

This is a good time to figure out the placement of your motors, servos, or cylinders. Make sure that your creation has the space to mount the necessary mechanisms. You will also want to consider the placement of the electronics. Will they be located inside the body or will they be situated outside with wire extensions to the motors? One thing I always try to mount inside the bodies of any talking props is the speakers. I install them as high in the chest as practical to put the audio as close to the mouth as I can. This makes it more believable, as well as helps to cover the sound of the motor that is driving the jaw.

One product that I use extensively for my prototypes is an adjustable and locking joint from Spider Hill Prop Works (Figure 6). These allow me to fine-tune the joint angles and get things dialed in exactly as I want them. Deciding on the precise design — especially if your final design will be welded steel — will save a tremendous amount of time and frustration later (see Resources).

Now that I have constructed my prototype, I can finally start to work on the actual build. This is the fun part as you watch your idea finally come to life! Hopefully all the effort you put forth during the planning process will lead to a smooth build. Expect that no matter how well you have designed your character, it will surely require some tweaking. It seems that I still spend the majority of my build time on this step. Little adjustments are always needed to get things to work perfectly! With all the time you have spent to get to this stage, you do not want to shortchange yourself here.

The electronics that bring your creation to life are, of course, a vital part of the build, but we lack the space to cover it all in this article. It deserves its own article which will be coming soon, so be sure to watch for it.

Brian’s Steps to Success

In contrast to the system I use when planning a project, we will take a look at Brian’s approach now. While I do spend a reasonable amount of time planning my builds, Brian’s approach is much more comprehensive.

In order to feature Brian’s process, we will be looking at one of his recent projects. Brian was part of a team that was developing an elaborate display for a local event. The original concept included a lighted flying saucer with an alien hand appearing from an opening dome structure. Brian has taken great pains in completely documenting the entire process in his thread at http://tinyurl.com/